Editor's Note

The Charge

"Cheerio, Liz! You'll soon knock that outfit into shape, I'm
sure."

Opening Statement

While women weren't on the front lines as soldiers in World War II, they did
play an important role in the fighting: as spies behind enemy lines. The British
series Wish Me Luck follows England's female spies into occupied France
on dangerous missions.

Facts of the Case

As Wish Me Luck: Series 2 begins, veteran spy Liz (Kate Buffery, Trial and Retribution) is in London,
working in the office overseeing Britain's secret operations in France. As she
deals with the return of her lover (Michael J. Jackson, Highlander) from a French mission
and the breakup of her marriage, Liz helps train a new crop of spies, including
young Emily (Jane Snowden, The Frog Prince) and the widowed Vivien (Lynn
Farleigh, Wycliffe). Emily and Vivien are
soon sent overseas, but when their cell leader Colin becomes shellshocked, Liz
must return to the field. Their missions of sabotage against the Nazis could be
in danger, because Vivien has a secret mission of her own.

The Evidence

Wish Me Luck: Series 2 isn't quite as good as the first series.
There's a certain soapiness about some of the stories here, namely Liz's marital
problems and Vivien's personal mission, that makes this series less realistic
than the first one. The marital breakup storyline could be excused as a story
device that gets Liz back into the field, but this series of Wish Me
Luck, while still good, could have been excellent.

With Liz in command of this series' French cell, Kate Buffery gets to show
her dramatic chops as she makes rough decisions in a changing situation,
including one final decision that will be a shocker. The first couple of
episodes, with Liz behind a desk, might be slow, but once she gets into the
field, it's a gripping mix of action and drama. The other standout is Jane
Snowden as Emily, the eager recruit who stays determined even as she grapples
with the possibility of an abortion to stay in the field and the problems caused
by a nosy French woman that could blow her cover. Although I didn't care for her
storyline, I'll note that Lynn Farleigh as Vivien delivers a good performance as
well. Beyond that, Julian Glover (Five Million Years to Earth) as Col.
James Cadogan, who runs the London office, gets some good dramatic material as
Cadogan sends his son off to war.

As with the last series, there's a constant feeling of danger for the women
that will bring a chill to your spine. Both the close calls and the horrible
losses are handled well, bringing home the realities of war. The show is filled
with small touches, such as a last English meal at an airfield or the way Liz
and her lover look at a cricket field ("excellent landing site"), that
add to the verisimilitude.

There's some flaring in a fiery destruction sequence, but the picture is
mostly good throughout. The gently haunting music comes across well also.
There's one episode that runs short; I suspect this was the edited-for-reruns
version and got in there by mistake. Unlike the first series, which had text
background on the role of women in World War II, this series has no extras.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Who knows? Perhaps the soap opera aspects of this series of Wish Me
Luck made the show more accessible to audiences in the late 1980s. While
shows like this mainly aired on public television in the States, Wish Me
Luck was an ITV series in Britain. It could also be that the first series
just set the bar very high, and that the demands of weekly television make it
awfully hard to keep that up forever.

Closing Statement

This series of Wish Me Luck has some weaknesses, but the show still
delivers drama, action, and history. Like war itself, it also has some moments
you won't likely soon forget. The second series is sudsier, but I'll leave it to
you whether that's a strength or a weakness.

The Verdict

Not guilty, although anyone allergic to soap bubbles is urged to steer
clear.